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Egypt
>Written by Sarah C Obimba
Illustrated by LaTonia Allen
Est. Reading Time: 1 min
Ya know Cleopatra had curly hair, right?
The wig was just a protective style
Wigs1, wraps2, braids3, twists4, locs5,…
None for your consumption, all for my good
Just like Aunt Cleo6, my coils
Dance around each other
They salsa and bachata like star crossed lovers
In their last moments
Ta bien: yeah, I got that good hair
It grows like a plant as I water it daily
Defines gravity as I define the odds
My curls, my crown it shapes my face
Framing my likeness in a self portrait
And when they ask, I’ll say
I WOKE UP LIKE THIS7
1 That Brazillian
2 Scarfs bend to my power
3 By the African lady down the street with heavy hands
4 By the same lady with heavy hands, but in half the time
5 Don’t you dare
6 That boujee successful Aunt
7 Beyoncé
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Published August 31, 2020
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Author’s Bio
Sarah C. Obimba
Servant of God. Igbo-American aspiring writer. Wisdom lover.
Sarah C. Obimba
Servant of God. Igbo-American aspiring writer. Wisdom lover.
Artist’s Bio
LaTonia Allen is a multidisciplinary artist that focuses on the investigating and occupying of spaces to form opportunities for liberation among black women. Creating portraits from working primarily with oil, acrylic, textile and collage on canvas, LaTonia has recently began researching immersing her body into performance. She uses line, symbolism and color to explore spaces of contemplation about interiority and contrite as a black woman in society.
︎ @latoniashanee ︎latoniaallen.com
LaTonia Allen is a multidisciplinary artist that focuses on the investigating and occupying of spaces to form opportunities for liberation among black women. Creating portraits from working primarily with oil, acrylic, textile and collage on canvas, LaTonia has recently began researching immersing her body into performance. She uses line, symbolism and color to explore spaces of contemplation about interiority and contrite as a black woman in society.
︎ @latoniashanee ︎latoniaallen.com
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